Previously on "Say My Name":

The Avatar nearly dies when Mako attacks her in the Probending gym, leaving him feeling guilty and depressed. After two weeks of being in a coma, Korra finally wakes up. But Mako learns that she can no longer speak …

"I'm afraid your young friend here … is mute," the doctor had told him. This replayed in Mako's mind like a broken record, the words "is mute" echoing over and over in his skull. Time froze and his heart stopped in his chest, his eyes wide in complete shock and horror, his face drained of color. Had he heard right? Korra, the girl he loved deeply and dearly, could no longer speak? And it was all his fault, he just knew it. The guilt within him was now devouring his mind, his heart, and his soul.

"M-m-mu-mute?" Mako stammered in a whisper to make sure he hadn't heard wrong. The doctor gravely nodded, and Korra's face saddened and her head looked down at her folded hands in her lap.

"How?" he questioned the doctor. "Why can't she speak?" he asked, holding back his tears.

"Well," the doctor began with a sigh, "in this day and age, we don't really have enough research on the study of the human mind. However, we do know some things." He paused, rubbing his thumb and his forefinger across his chin, trying to recall these "things" he just mentioned. "I'll try to explain this as simple as possible." Mako nodded and waited for his explanation. The old man had seated himself on a chair, tired of standing for so long, and motioned Mako to do the same.

"Now, I want both of you to listen," the doctor resumed, folding a leg over the other, "since I have yet to tell you this, Avatar Korra." He glanced quickly at her who nodded in acknowledgment. "There is an area in the brain, called 'Broca's area', located usually on the left side of your brain. This region of the brain is believed to be linked to language production, as well as language comprehension. When damaged, it may affect your speaking pattern, as well as your understanding of the language you speak." He turned to Korra and continued. "You, my dear, had received extreme damage to this area, but it doesn't seem like your understanding of the language has changed. I had you write for me earlier (if you remember) and you could spell just fine. And you can obviously understand what I'm saying to you now." Korra nodded in understanding.

"But I don't exactly understand why she can't speak," Mako said.

The doctor leaned back in his chair that creaked as he did so, and explained, "The area I mentioned earlier - Broca's area - controls the muscles of your lips, your jaws, as well as your vocal cords. Sadly, when this area is damaged, all muscle memory of your mouth is lost, as well as how to create sounds of words."

Mako, his throat now dry, gulped nervously, "So, in other words …"

"In other words," the doctor repeated slowly, "it'd be like teaching a baby how to speak." The couple's hearts sunk to the floor; the firebender's body turned completely numb; the Avatar wasn't sure what to feel.

Suddenly, the door of the room slid open, and a nurse poked her head in, saying, "Doctor, you have a patient waiting," and she closed the door. The old man stood up and walked towards Mako, setting his kind, warm hand on his shoulder, giving it a short squeeze, and said with a sincere, apologetic look on his face, "I'm sorry. Both of you." And he walked out.

Mako sat there in that chair without moving, without saying a word, his eyes and face completely blank. What have I done? he cried within himself. He didn't want to look at Korra, knowing what his actions had done to her. He cursed himself for living on this earth; he wanted to be struck by lightning and die, right then and there. And then a thought hit him. How had he looked when he struck her? Was his face the face of a killer? Did his face resemble … his parents' murderer? Thinking about it now, he should be in jail for what he did to her. She would never forgive him. Never. And he wouldn't blame her for it … because he was to blame.

Korra had reclined back on the hospital bed, feeling empty and hollow inside when her doctor revealed the bad news. She had mixed emotions, as if someone threw them all in a blender and pressed puree. Her head still hurt terribly and she could feel her heart beat dangerously slow in her chest, her breathing coming out irregularly. For the longest time, she stared at the wrinkles on her bed sheet that was covering her legs, her brain void of thoughts. She was disoriented, depressed, and shocked. She inhaled deeply and faltered to look at her boyfriend who was seated to the right of her bedside.

Mako's face was dark, his eyes staring mindlessly at the wall, miles far and away from here. His eyes were half-lidded, rarely blinking, and he looked dead, just sitting motionless in his chair, devoid of life.

Korra wanted to call his name, to wake him out of this zombie-like trance, but when she opened her mouth, her lips couldn't form the word, and no sound came out. She truly forgot how to speak, and a tear ran down her cheek, but she quickly rubbed it away with the back of her long sleeve. Mako heard her move slightly, and he went to look at her, but when their eyes met he turned his face away as soon as he saw her. He didn't want to look at her now, and he believed that she likewise didn't want to look at him either.

She hates me, he thought. I don't deserve to live. And each thought after that became more and more negative, inwardly hating himself, chastising himself mentally. She won't forgive me. She can't forgive me. She'll never forgive me.

He then heard three soft thumps. It was Korra. She was lightly patting her bed with her right hand, signaling Mako to sit there next to her. He didn't directly look at her, avoiding the gaze of her beautiful blue eyes. After a moment he sighed and sat there beside her, but his back was completely faced towards her, sitting near the head board of her bed. Mako sat there quiet for several minutes, and neither stirred in the silence exchanged between them. The firebender restrained the tears and feelings he kept bottled inside, struggling to be as cool as a cucumber. He didn't want Korra to see him like this. Then, he couldn't hold it in anymore; he couldn't fight it, and everything burst forth, coming out all at once.

She saw Mako's tall frame bend down forwards, his body shaking. His head was buried in his hands, his tears flowing out of his eyes like a waterfall, trying his best to hold back his choking sobs. He hadn't cried like this since the death of his parents that fateful night years ago. Back then, he had cursed the firebender who took his parents from him, swearing he'd kill the man if he ever crossed paths with him again. However, this time, the only one he could curse … was himself.

Korra had never seen him like this before: so broken-hearted, depressed, sad, and crying. She wanted to touch him, to tell him that it's not the end of the world; that everything would be okay - though she knew that those words weren't wholly true. But she bit her lip back, knowing that no matter how hard she'd try, nothing would come out. She couldn't comfort him with words, so instead she lifted herself up, and hugged him.

Mako let out a sharp gasp as he felt Korra's arms wrap tightly around his waist. She squeezed even tighter to try to get the message across: to stop crying and that she's fine. He lifted his head from his hands, wiping the tears that kept on flowing. He then felt her breath and hot tears seeping through the back of his clothes, feeling her shake as she cried silently into his back.

"K-K-Kor-r-ra?" he stammered, his voice hiccuping from crying so much. He sniffed up some snot and wiped his nose. "I-I'm s-s-sor -" and he choked and paused. He took in a deep breath to compose himself and continued, "I-I'm s-sorry. I'd u-understand if y-you'd h-hate me now." He could feel her shake her head "no". "What? Aren't y-you angry with me?" She violently shook her head "no" again.

"Are you cr-crazy?" he half-shouted angrily. "I almost lost you, K-Korra I almost …" and his tears started to return, his eyes becoming blurry yet again. "I. Almost. K-killed you."

She released her grip around his stomach and moved to the left of her bed, her feet hanging off its side. She planted her right foot down then her left, and carefully began walking to the other side of the bed to face Mako. She wobbled as she walked, however, and almost fell over due to the fact that she hadn't walked on her feet for two weeks.

"Korra? What are you doing?" he gasped in horror as she walked over to him. "You shouldn't be walking!"

She rested her hands on her hips, a lip jutting forward from her mouth.

"Get back in your bed!" he ordered. She pointed her face up to the side, pouting, avoiding his eyes, acting like a defiant child. He went to stand up, but she gently seated him back on the bed, pushing down on his left shoulder. He sat there wondering what was going through her mind, wondering if the hard impact on her head had affected her sense of reasoning. But he immediately remembered that this was Korra he was talking about. Korra: the girl who hated taking orders from anyone, who always wanted to do her own thing, acting on impulse, and was quite impatient. She always wanted to prove that she could accomplish things; that she could do things for herself.

He examined the Avatar in front of him. She stood there proudly, hands on her hips, and a silly grin on her face. He understood.

"'I'm fine.' Is that what you're trying to tell me?" She simply nodded in response.

"And you're not mad at me? Because you have every right to be. It's all my fau -" she put her hand over his mouth, shaking her head, and gave him a sad smile. She removed her hand and went to stand up straight again, but lost her balance as her knees were giving out, and Mako was able to catch her. He took her into his arms and sat back down, seating her sideways on his left leg, her own legs hanging off the side of his right thigh. She stared into his eyes and moved towards his face to peck him on the lips. When she pulled back, she smiled sweetly at him and gently combed his unkempt hair.

He smiled back at her and said, "I don't deserve your love and forgiveness, y'know." She shrugged and smirked at his response, resting her head against him, and she could feel the gentle rumbling in his chest as he chuckled.

He ran his hand through her dark brown hair that was no longer in ties, and whispered, "I'll teach you. I'll teach you how to speak again. So that I can hear your voice. So that I can hear you say my name."

A/N: It looks like the end, huh? Well, it's not. :P There's still a lot more to write, a lot more angst that I have planned in my twisted head of mine, and I will update as soon as I possibly can. Oh, and I apologize that this chapter was so short! I'll try to make the next one longer. By the way, her condition is a real one (and a pretty sad one too), so I didn't just make this up. *laughs* Wait … I shouldn't be laughing … -_-' So, how was it? Was it Angsty?

Please review and tell me what you think so far! Or favorite and/or follow it - I appreciate either one. :)